You know, pretty much every day I hear customers tell us how much they love doing business with our pawn shop. But every now and then, I do hear something negative. It’s not often…
For the most part I shrug it off, but to be honest it has gotten under my skin more than once as well. It doesn’t make me angry so much as it makes me want to communicate more effectively and improve/fix whatever it is that caused the negativity.
I love what I do – it makes me feel great to help others every day as ‘my job.’ Pawn shops need their community and their community needs their pawn shops.
I love my customers. Pawn shops offer unique services that they simply can’t get anywhere else.
If you need some quick cash, you can go into a pawn shop and get a fast loan without a credit check or even a checking account just by letting someone hold onto your jewelry or other valuables.
Don’t worry – whatever you give them to hold onto is still yours – you’ve got nothing to be concerned about.
When you’ve got a little extra money, you can pick your items back up and extremely reasonable interest rates in most States. The repayment terms are normally very simple and not that expensive.
Feel Comfortable With Your Local Pawn Shop
Most first-time customers to pawn shops are afraid of what will happen to their possessions as soon as they turn them over for that initial loan. Trust me, there is nothing to worry about…
When you are ready to get it, it will be there for you. It’s not as if they are going to get rid of it on you.
Just the opposite in fact. Pawn shops are typically regulated by very strict state laws that dictate exactly how and what they can do with your possession while they are holding onto them.
In fact, in Ohio we are frequently audited by the state for performance and accountability. If we are caught not following the law then we could lose our license and our business with it!
Let’s face it, it’s not worth losing a muti-million dollar business just to get a $5,000 ring. It’s not going to happen, nobody would do that. More important than that – the people who own and run pawn shops are usually very proud of their job because of their role in the community.
Every now and then, there are stories about pawn shops that portray them in a negative light. But that isn’t the majority of experiences.
If you have a great experience someplace, do you go out and shout it off the mountain tops? Probably not. Sure if someone asks you then you will tell them about your great experience but otherwise you don’t make a whole lot of noise about how well things went.
On the other hand, if something bad happens, you almost always hear about it. It’s just human nature. If someone isn’t happy, they naturally will want to tell everyone they come in contact with. There’s nothing wrong with it – it’s just what happens.
Just to make matters worse, when word travels, it often gets distorted. Have you ever played telephone? Isn’t it funny how much the message can change by the time you get to the end of the line?
The same thing with bad news. It might have started with someone having to pay a $4 storage fee but by the time it gets to the tenth person down the line, it might sound like someone had their arm cut off.
Of course, there are instances where things do go wrong but they are extremely infrequent.
But On TV They…
Let me stop you there. Television is entertainment and because of that they will show you the most entertaining things that happen in the shop.
If someone has something happen that they don’t like and throw a fit – that’s entertainment to TV audiences!
Because of that, what is shown on TV is often the worst or best case scenarios. The daily operation of a pawn shop can be rather uneventful.
The reason it’s so uneventful is because things go as planned. There are virtual no problems or arguments in your normal pawn shop. The terms are affordable and it’s a very simple, fast process.
It’s safe. If you follow the rules and repay your loan, your items will be there for you – just like they were when you dropped them off.
I Heard They Can Keep My Stuff?
Well, that is true, a pawn shop can keep your merchandise only if you don’t come back on pay on it regularly or pick it up. You will have nothing to worry about!
In the shop I work in, only 19% of people forfeit their items. That means 81 out of 100 loans I make, the people come back for their merchandise and get it back.
They were able to walk in, without a credit check or a checking account and make a quick, fast cash loan – then a little later come back and get it, just like it was when they dropped it off.
That’s what we are here for. Pawn shops are here to help the members of a community in their time of need.
On top of it – trust me, pawn shops would much rather you come back and get your merchandise than leave it behind. That way if you need some quick cash again, you can re-loan the same item in the future a pawn shop will always be happy to help you with that.
Pawn shops want to see you get your items back. If you leave your item behind, then they have to deal with reselling it, which in many cases isn’t as great as you may think it is.
So yes, they can keep it – but only if you don’t pay on it, and the payments are very affordable in most cases.
Don’t Criminals Go Into Pawn Shops?
A pawnbroker will do anything and everything he can to keep stolen merchandise out of his store.
Not only do they not want to profit off of someone else’s loss, but they themselves can lose money on merchandise if the police department comes in and confiscates it. It’s a no win scenario to buy stolen merchandise! On top of it, most of us are too proud of what we do to even touch a stolen item if we can avoid it.
Trust me, pawn shops don’t like criminals and don’t want to work with them at all.
Of course, some stolen items will still make their way into the pawn shop, but that’s only because there’s no real way to tell some things apart. New, used or otherwise – some basic items are going to look just about the same. It’s not as if the bad guys label their stolen merchandise with a ‘Stolen’ tag.
But boy, wouldn’t life be easier if they did…
Can I Really Find Good Deals In Pawn Shops?
Hell yes you can!
You can find amazing deals on goods in pawn shops because they typically aren’t looking to make a fortune off of what they sell. For the most part, they want their money back from the loan that was made against the merchandise and maybe a little profit margin on top of that but a very reasonable margin… nothing crazy.
For the most part a pawnbroker is just glad to see the item gone so that he can recoup his money and make another loan.
The Nerd’s Experience
I really love that communities embrace pawn shops for their services, and really see the business as something almost anyone could love. It’s simple service that doesn’t involve any of today’s ‘complexities.
You can walk into a pawn shop, with any kind of credit and possible not even a bank account and still get fast cash, on the spot. It’s simple, clean and efficient.
Pawn shops provide a great service and ask for very little in return. In my pawn shop, we are happy to see you and really want to help you out of whatever situation you may be in.
Pawn shops are there to help people. Sure they make a little money from each loan, but in most states the interest rates charged are extremely reasonable and easy to pay back.
If you hear something bad about a pawn shop – I’d be willing to bet that there is another side to that story that you aren’t hearing.
It’s true!
Look, the rules are set by the State and they aren’t going to legislate anything that is completely unfair or crazy. Most often than not the state laws are very conservative and beneficial to the person making the loan.
You’ve got nothing to worry about when you go into a pawn shop.
They are there to help. It’s still a business, but more often then not – they are your friend.
As always, if you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comments form below.
Thanks again,
The Head Nerd
